Make your own hand printed fabric

Hi there, Krissy here from Earth Cadets! The lovely ladies from Kelly + Olive asked me over as a guest blogger this week to do a fabric printing tutorial and I am super excited! So let's get down to business, big business!

Fabric printing on your own is super easy. You don't need messy and finicky emulsion or a giant light table; you just need a few supplies from your local arts/craft store and your closet and desk.

Let's get this party started!

You need:
- masking tape, I used thick and thin but any will do
- fabric ink, you will want to choose two colors, I like versatex ink
- a spatula
- a squeegee, you can get these at any art supply store or online
- a screen, you can get these at any art supply store as well, online or if in the Chicago area, from Chicago Silk Screen (all wood frames are made from recycled wood and super affordable).
- scrap fabric. I am using left over canvas, but an old t-shirt will do. Repurposing scrap fabric is a great way to be an Earth Cadet.


Step One: (we can have lots of fun! sorry I just had to.)
Tape out your color one design on the screen. You can do anything you want, but keep in mind this will be the background color. The ink will go where ever the tape is not. (just to avoid confusion, my screen has some older burned images on it from previous projects due to ink dying the mesh, but the screen is clean :) )


Step Two:
Lay your fabric down on a table. It helps to pin down the corners. Also, instead of a table, it may be easier to print on a ironing board so you have some give when you run the squeegee over the screen. Take a dolop of ink and spread it over the top of the screen with the spatula. Be careful not to move the screen after this as some may have inked on to the fabric already.

Place hand on edge of screen to hold it in place and take your squeegee and run it up and down the screen coating the whole thing evenly.


Lift screen up gently. The easy way to do this is press down on one end and lift up the other. Ouala!

Step Three:
Wash out the supplies in the sink. Be sure to wash all of the ink out of the screen and off of your spatula and squeegee. This is the best way to ensure the longevity of your supplies.

Step Four:
Grab a beer.
After washing your screen out you need to make sure it's completely dry before continuing on to color two. So go and find a nice place in the sun and grab a drink. You need to wait 45 minutes to an hour for the screen and fabric to be completely dry.

Step Five:
Tape out the design you want on top of the background. Squares, rectangles, stripes - whatever magic you can make with masking tape. You could also use stickers for different shapes of the rounder persuasion.

Step Six:
Lay the screen on top of the design - you can see how it fits best through the screen. Once in place take that dolop (a dolop) of ink again and spread it over the top of the screen with the spatula. And again, be careful not to move the screen after this as some may have inked on to the fabric already.


Squeegee the ink, covering the entire screen.

And..... heyo! You now have your very own geometric two color print where the next step possibilities are endless! Pillows? Placemats? Runners? Wall hangings? I will now show you a couple real life examples of what you can do with your hand made work of art!


Option One: Wall art!
Liven up your living space by placing your geo-print in a matted frame.


Option Two: (and my personal fave) Placemat!
Spice up that lovely breakfast for you; by layering tasty dishes on top of your art! You can even continue the fun and make enough of your artful placemats to host a dinner party!




And that's that, my Kelly+Olive friends!! Thanks again to Courtney and Lauren for this super fun opportunity! You guys are great! I am so proud of all the great and inspiring work you have done and happy to be a part of the blog today!!

Hope this tutorial appears as easy as it is to execute! I promise you will be thrilled with the outcome and feel free to ask any questions along the way. info@earthcadets.com

Happy printing, Earth Cadets!

-Krissy

Oh! P.S. Please keep in mind Earth Cadeting as you go along - old bath towels are great when working on slightly messy projects like these to replace the paper towels.